Sports Economics
Jeremy Fishman
Krissy Kozlowski
Kaitlyn Thompson
Professional sports are undoubtedly one of the single most influential
entities in the United States. Across the country children try to emulate their
favorite athletes in hopes of one day playing on the top tier of athletics. Being a
multi billion-dollar industry, professional sports have a great effect on the national
economy. Not only do the teams employ the players and those who work at the
venues, they also help the local bars and restaurants surrounding the venues that
are flooded with fans on game days. Every United States citizen has contributed to
the professional sports in their lifetime whether it is through direct payment or
taxation. Without sports, the United States’ economy would be shaped completely
different.
Professional athletes in the major four American sports make a tremendous
amount of money. Every day these salaries are argued and debated across the
country. To help keep player’s salaries considerably lower and keep the game fair,
most of the major four sports leagues have set a salary cap, or an amount teams can
spend on their players collectively. These salary caps were created from free
agency, the state of a professional athlete who is free to negotiate a contract to play
for any team. Free agency has driven up the salaries of athletes and created more
national attention for professional sports.
The NBA has a team salary cap of $58.044 million dollars, which being spread
across 15 players makes for an astounding average salary of $5.5 million dollars.
Basketball players make more money, on average than the other sports because
there are far fewer athletes in the professional league, 450 to be exact. This creates
a greater demand for the players, raising the average salaries of all the athletes.
Major League Baseball comes in second with an average salary of $3.31
million dollars per athlete. With 25 players on each roster the MLB has a total of
750 players, a much greater number than the NBA. This creates less demand for
each player, lowering their worth. Major League Baseball currently does not have a
salary cap in place. This means that teams with money, such as the Yankees, can go
out and spend their money as much as they want. By not having a salary cap the
teams with less money to spend are at a substantial disadvantage. In order to
combat the high spending, Major League Baseball has a 162 game schedule,
providing a large opportunity for teams to create income.
